The investigators hypothesize that nebivolol will improve endothelial t-PA release in adult humans with elevated blood pressure to a greater extent than either metoprolol or placebo. The investigators further hypothesize that the improvement in the capacity of the vascular endothelium to release t-PA with nebivolol is mediated, in part, by the compound's antioxidant properties.

All of the women in the study will be postmenopausal and not receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) currently or in the preceding 3-year period.

Candidates will be sedentary as determined from the Stanford Physical Activity Questionnaire (<35 kcal/wk) and will not have engaged in any program of regular physical activity for at least 1 year prior to the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

Candidates who smoke (currently or in the past 7 years), report more than low-risk alcohol consumption as defined as no more than 14 standard drinks/wk and no more than 4 standard drinks/day for men and 7 standard drinks/wk and 3 standard drinks/day for women (a standard drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, 1½ ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits).

Potential candidates who are taking cardiovascular-acting (i.e. statins, blood pressure medication and aspirin) medications will not be eligible.

Fasting plasma glucose >126 mg/dL.

Potential candidates with a resting heart rate of < 50 beats/minute will be excluded.

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01595516